Many of the most immediately viral content on the Internet turns out to be fake. From NYT’s Ravi Somaiya and Leslie Kaufman: “Truth has never been an essential ingredient of viral content on the Internet. But in the stepped-up competition for readers, digital news sites are increasingly blurring the line between fact and fiction, and saying that it is all part of doing business in the rough-and-tumble world of online journalism.” The big question: When it comes to the more goofy viral content, do we really care if it’s real or not?

+ The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson charts the sites we share on Facebook and Twitter. Key takeaways: Facebook drives a ton of traffic. The stuff we share on Twitter and Facebook is quite different. And Upworthy knows how to do viral.

+ Demand Media: The rise and fall of a content farm. Longform content is one of the hottest things on the Internet and content farms are failing. Hope for the future?